


So You Had a Bad Day

by MysteryFicAnon



Series: Undertale Fic Requests [19]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fighting, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Misunderstandings, Neither of them is perfect, Underfell Papyrus (Undertale), Underfell Papyrus/Underswap Papyrus (Undertale), Underswap Papyrus (Undertale)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 15:49:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26500138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysteryFicAnon/pseuds/MysteryFicAnon
Summary: Based on a dialogue prompt sent in by Breezles on Tumblr, have some mild angsty spicyhoney.
Relationships: Papyrus/Papyrus (Undertale)
Series: Undertale Fic Requests [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1436539
Comments: 12
Kudos: 30





	So You Had a Bad Day

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to @Clehnian for beta reading this!!!
> 
> Surprisingly I managed to get something out for this week, but I'm warning y'all that probably won't last. I've been really tired this week, and I may not have the time/motivation to write something else.

Edge would never say he hated Stretch, but there were certain things Stretch did that annoyed him far more than he rationally knew they should. Namely, shutting down instead of confronting him when he had a problem.

Case in point, they were supposed to have a date today, but Stretch hadn’t texted or called him since their shared movie night two days ago. The cell network in Underfell was questionable at best, but after 3 texts and five calls that had been sent straight to voicemail, Edge knew he was being ignored.

In a way, Red was simpler under all the layers of deception. He was a pit of angry self-loathing, and his response was always to lash out. If he had a bad day he would yell about it, and then he and Edge could just move on.

Stretch and Blue had been his first true introduction to passive aggression. If he did something wrong they wouldn’t point it out, they would simply try to ignore him and then move on. Back when their universes had first merged, Edge hadn’t realized the insults he thought were playful came across as rude. It had taken Blue finally breaking down and ordering him to leave one day for him to understand he’d made a mistake.

One of the worst parts was that he didn’t even know what he had done wrong. The movie night had gone fine, he and Stretch had cuddled a bit and watched the movie. It wasn’t exactly Edge’s taste, but he could tolerate the way it made Stretch light up.

Stretch had given him no warning, all Edge had to go on now was silence. He understood he could be… confrontational, but if he had done something wrong he wanted to know. It wasn’t fair to leave him hanging, and if he had hurt Stretch then he wanted to fix it. He could deal with tears and adapt to Stretch’s particular needs until the end of time. The one thing he refused to deal with, however, was being ghosted.

In the back of his mind, Edge knew the real reason he was so upset. He had thought they moved past this, and Stretch trusted him enough to air his grievances. They might have only been dating for three months, but Edge had done his damnedest to open up to Stretch. To think that he still wasn’t doing enough to win Stretch’s trust was unexpectedly painful, and, well, Red hadn’t exactly been the best role model for healthily venting negative emotions.

The time they were supposed to meet up was fast approaching, but Edge wasn’t even sure if they were still on. So he did the only thing he could think of; he changed into some casual clothes and went down to the basement. He wasn’t going to be late for a date, after all.

Red knew where he was going, so Edge just sent him the usual threatening text about coming home to eat leftovers instead of going to Grillby’s. Their food might have been good enough to draw Red home on his own, but if anyone was monitoring their cellphones and had hacked their encryption then it was better to give them as little ammunition as possible.

Edge took a deep breath as the emerged into the crisp air of Underswap’s Snowdin. It did little to cool him off, but it was the thought that counted. He walked up to the back door and knocked briskly, only to receive no response.

Oh, right. Blue wouldn’t be home if he thought Edge and Stretch had a hot date tonight. After waiting for a good minute and a half, Edge just turned the doorknob. As expected, their back door was unlocked. Edge couldn’t tell if Stretch was deliberately trying to keep him out, or simply ignoring him. Either way, he wasn’t going to let it fly.

He closed the door loudly behind him, and brushed his boots on the mat with excessive force. He glanced into the living room, and the empty couch only confirmed his theory. When Stretch was angry or wanted to hide away from the others, he always went up to his bedroom.

Edge walked up each step with slow deliberation, resting his foot on the creakiest part of each stair. Even without the weight of his armour, his stride still sounded fairly imposing. Good. If Stretch was going to hide, then Edge was going to telegraph his moods even more.

He knocked on Stretch’s door twice, but opened it before Stretch could answer him. He stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. If they were going to fight, it was better that the whole neighbourhood didn’t hear.

“what do you want?” Stretch’s voice was hoarse, and even if Edge couldn’t see his face he could tell he had been crying. He sounded incredibly tired, but Edge’s already-thinned patience didn’t offer much sympathy.

“Excuse me? What do I want?” He asked, stepping closer to the bed. “I want you to fucking communicate with me for once in your goddamn life. Tell me what’s wrong so I can fix it!”

Edge waited, but Stretch didn’t say anything. He didn’t even move. The only sound in the room was their breathing, Stretch’s quiet rasp paired with Edge’s sharp, staccato breaths.

**“Yell, scream, cry, please, just say something, anything.”** Edge hated how weak he sounded, but he couldn’t help it. Fuck, was it too much to ask to get something? Even just a single hint to go off of for what he’d done wrong?

Stretch mumbled something, but Edge couldn’t understand it.

“What?”

“i said you can’t fix me!” Stretch turned around, finally letting Edge see the dark circles under his sockets. His eyelights were small and wobbly, jittering wildly around the room as if he couldn’t bear to look at Edge. “i’m the fucking problem. i didn’t sleep at all and i tried to nap today but i kept having nightmares and i don’t remember where i put my phone and i just—” Stretch took a deep, shuddering breath and curled even further in on himself. “just leave. i know i’m useless but i just can’t fucking do this right now.”

Well, that threw Edge for a tailspin. He just stared down at Stretch for a moment, processing what had just happened. Apparently he’d been a fucking idiot.

He’d gotten so caught up in thinking that he’d done something wrong that he'd forgotten Stretch might have other reasons to not contact him. Awhile back Blue had mentioned that Stretch suffered from insomnia, but Edge hadn't realized how bad it could get. He should have considered this possibility, but instead he’d failed as a strategist.

Then again, he probably should have done a lot of things in the past. Experience told him the best thing to do was try and make up for his actions. Judging by the way Stretch was still cowering in the blankets, he had a lot to make up for.

“Stretch.” He took a deep breath, making a conscious effort to lower his voice as he spoke. “It appears I have misjudged the situation. I was mad because I thought you were deliberately avoiding me.”

Stretch didn’t reply, but Edge didn’t blame him.

“May I come closer?” He asked gently, fully prepared for the answer to be no. If Stretch was having a bad day, then Edge had only made it immeasurably worse by storming in and acting like an asshole.

To his surprise, Stretch nodded. Edge paused, watching as Stretch shifted over a bit. He walked over quickly, but forced himself to slow down when he got closer to Stretch. He didn’t want to intimidate him, after all. He sat on the bed next to Stretch, and carefully put his arm around the pile of blankets. There was no pressure, and it would be easy to push him off if Stretch wanted to.

Stretch immediately pressed into the touch, snuggling close to Edge. Edge’s soul felt like it was being squeezed in his chest, and he held Stretch close. He ran one hand soothingly over Stretch’s back, feeling how his datemate was trembling even through the blankets.

Edge just hugged Stretch, letting him get it all out. He couldn’t exactly slay Stretch’s mental demons, but he could do this. He held Stretch silently, rubbing his back as gently as he could. He wasn’t good at words of comfort, so he hoped his touches would be more than enough.

He glanced over at Stretch’s window, watching as the streetlights began to dim. He’d never been able to stand just sitting in his room in Underfell. Even if someone wasn’t screaming, Edge knew there were others out there suffering. There was no hiding from the painful realities of his world; they crept into every nook and cranny and infected the very air with suffering.

Here it was almost peaceful. There were functioning lights, and the pseudo-sunset was rather calming. A part of Edge still felt uncomfortable in the silence, but that might have just been learned paranoia.

Eventually, Stretch stopped crying. Edge continued slowly rubbing circles on Stretch’s back. One shoulder of his sweater clung uncomfortably to his bones, but this wasn’t the time to deal with it. Edge tolerated far worse discomforts while patrolling every day; he could stay with Stretch for a bit longer.

“I will never mind if you have to cancel or change plans, I just need to know.” Edge murmured, nuzzling into the top of Stretch’s skull through the blanket. “It… hurts me when you just go silent.”

“ ‘m sorry.” Stretch really did sound sorry, and Edge hoped he knew that Edge wasn’t trying to hurt him. “i’ll try to keep my phone on me next time.”

“Apology accepted. Now, when was the last time you ate or drank?” Edge asked calmly. A meal might not replace sleep, but it was a good place to start for taking care of Stretch.

As he’d expected, Stretch only squirmed in response. Blue might have left a lunch, but if Stretch was doing so poorly Edge doubted Stretch would have gone downstairs to get it. Freshly cooked food would be better anyways, and Edge would pack as much loving intent into the food as he could.

“Let me go get something.” He kissed the top of Stretch’s skull, then began shifting to get out from underneath him.

“wait.” Stretch grabbed Edge’s arm, and he paused. Stretch hesitated, looking down at the floor. “stay for a bit?”

“Of course.” It took a bit of work, but Edge managed to lean down and untie his boots without pushing Stretch off of his lap.

Once they were off he scooted over, setting one of Stretch’s pillows against the headboard of his bed. He sat there, relaxing his posture slightly. Even without his armour on, the rigid soldiers’ positions he learned didn’t make for very good cuddling.

Stretch opened up the blanket, then sat in Edge’s lap. Edge pulled it up and around them both, letting Stretch rest his head on his chest. He pulled off one of his gloves, then ran the sharpened tips of his fingers over Stretch’s coronal suture. He scratched gently, and Stretch let out a pleased hum. He wasn’t exactly smiling yet, but at least he wasn’t frowning any more.

There was one more thing that would probably cheer him up. Edge usually just tried to show Stretch how he felt, but given his current track record perhaps words were better. He wasn’t quite ready to say the three words Stretch wanted to hear, but hopefully he could give him something that was close enough.

“I care about you, Stretch.” Edge moved his hand out of the way and leaned down, kissing the top of Stretch’s skull.

“i know.” Stretch tilted his head up, looking at Edge with a pleading expression that was impossible to resist.

Edge kissed Stretch, resting the back of his hand on his datemate’s neck. He closed his eyes, savouring the feeling. Stretch was always so sweet, and Edge couldn’t help drawing it out. He had nowhere to be, so he didn’t have to worry about anything besides the way Strech’s mouth felt against his.

“i love you, edge.” Stretch murmured, his breath brushing against Edge’s teeth as he spoke.

A shiver ran down Edge’s spine, and he couldn’t help the smile that crept over his face. He saw the light of his magic reflecting on Stretch’s skull, but he had no way to stop it. Hearing those words brought Edge a joy he could never hope to contain, and if Stretch still liked him despite the stupid face he was making, then it was fine.

Edge pulled Stretch back into a hug, rolling his eyes as Stretch chuckled. He shifted a bit, finding the most comfortable position. He knew he was most likely going to be here for awhile, and he was more than happy to do it.

He didn’t know what he’d done to deserve a gift like Stretch, but he was going to do his damnedest to keep him. They still had a few communication issues, but that was fine. If Stretch could wait for him to take his walls down brick by brick, then Edge would happily do the same.


End file.
